Happy Birthday Mom

On Friday we celebrated mom's 30th birthday *wink wink* by enjoying a family dinner in Dupont Circle. We of course went to an Italian Restaurant (what other cuisine is there??)- Odeon Cafe. After two bottles of Italian wine, yummy samplers of various Italian appetizers, lots of pasta, one tiramisu and two cannoli's, we made our way out of the city. The ride home turned out to be eventful- Mom, Drew and I took the parkway while Dad and Kristina made the smarter decision to take Route 1. The heavy rain that had been falling for a few days finally accumulated and flooded the parkway, which the police decided to close just as we were approaching Mount Vernon. It is a good thing though as I don't think mom was in the mood to swim home on her bithday. We took a detour :) Happy Birthday mom- we love you! Here are some pics from dinner-

Christopher Men Go Fishing

Remember how I went to Vegas with my girlfriends over Labor Day Weekend? While I was at the Monte Carlo catching my second wind on the jack black table, the Christopher Men were out catching fish in the Northern Neck. Here are some pics that my mother in law (Mama J) provided me of their mighty catch after a day on the Chesapeake Bay. Enjoy!

For Aunt Darlene

After requests for a pictures from various people, and most recently Aunt Darlene :), here is a pic of the necklace Drew gave me for our anniversary. The circle symbolizes eternity. All together now..."ahhhh, so sweet". Good job Drew.

Greed, Gluttony, Envy....

...all SO yummy! I am referring to martini's of course, specifically the martini's at Seven Martini Bar in White Stone VA where Drew and I took his parents on Friday night to enjoy some drinks, all named after sins (which I thought was pretty creative) as well as tapas. Interestingly, the bar is located in the exact room where my mother in law had her six grade class. We highly recommend it in case you are ever in the NNK- http://www.whitestoneeventcenter.com/page/page/4475977.htm.

Saturday was such a wonderfully relaxing day. We woke up and sat outside in the crisp fall weather overlooking the water and had our coffee, cup after cup :) Doesn't get much better than that. In the early afternoon we took Gia to a local dog show but sadly showed up too late for her competition (purebred under 25lbs) although we are sure she would have won had we made it on time :). We were able to spend time visiting with Drew's grandfather James before returning to his parents for an afternoon of sitting on the water reading, relaxing and enjoying appletini's. Mama J was able to help us with a special photo session which you will all see in the near future. Saturday night we went with Drew's parents to the Sandpiper which was delicious as always. It was hard to leave on Sunday and head back to our hectic lives- Drew flew out last night for a week long business trip traveling all along the east coast and I will travel to DC this week for a couple days of work in the office. We are hoping to make it back to the NNK very soon.

Here are some pics from the weekend-

One Year Down!

And many many more to go :) We have officially been married a year and we both agree it was the fastest year of our lives! But in a good way. Drew and I celebrated our one year anniversary Sunday in a very low key but nice way- relaxing. We've been on the go for the past month so it was great. Thanks to mom and dad for a wonderful Italian dinner (#200 this past year!) and for saving the top layer of our wedding cake which we all enjoyed Sunday night and will continue to eat all week. It tasted amazing! Drew also surprised me with a beautiful diamond eternity necklace which I will likely wear every day as it goes with everything. I gave him a painting of the northern neck (where he grew up), painted by a northern neck artist. The scene very much resembles Dymer's Creek where his parents live. It's already hanging in our house and Drew commented that he feels relaxed everytime he looks at it. Mission accomplished! Thanks to Mama J for transporting the painting to me from Kilmarnock and to Stephanie for helping me pick it out.

Drew and I are going to dinner at our favorite restaurant in the northern neck this weekend, Sandpiper (where we went after we got engaged) for our offical anniversary celebration. We are also hoping to spend some time on the water - we can't wait!

Here are some pics from Sunday-

Wedding Weekend Take 3

I take back what I wrote in a blog a few weeks ago about fall in Virginia and how amazing it is, clearly mother nature has a different definition of fall this year, one that unfortunately involves 90 degree weather and tons of ragweed. Still, even though it didn't feel quite like fall, we enjoyed a fall themed wedding this past weekend in Westminster, MD, as we celebrated the wedding of Drew's fraternity brother Kirk, and his new bride Jennifer.

Held on the horse farm where Kirk grew up, the setting was absolutely beautiful and picturesque. Friday evening we attended a barn party in the cutest, and cleanest barn I have ever seen. It was the perfect red party barn if there is such a thing. We enjoyed drinks and appetizers as we listened to a blue grass band and caught up with AGR friends. The wedding was held on Saturday afternoon, outside on the property, with a tent reception that followed. I loved the Virginia Tech inspired cake which turned out to be red velvet - my favorite! A highlight of the wedding occurred when the bouquet and garter were caught by our good friends Anne and Hunter, who happen to be dating. Anne did not try to catch it even a little bit, but after a few girls dove for it, it bounced up, hit the tent, and landed in Anne's hands! All eyes in the room were on Hunter and of course we loved every minute of it!

Later that night all of the AGR guys and girls crammed into one hotel room to watch Virginia Tech beat Clemson - another huge highlight of the weekend. The noise volume in our room caused by the guys screaming and jumping made me a bit nervous but thankfully we did not get kicked out of the hotel! Here are a few pics from the wedding-

Hunter putting the garter on Anne.

Hunter and Anne

Wedding Weekend Take 2

Congratulations to Mary and Matt Klapmust!!! My bestfriend since 7th grade, Mary Malerich, married Matt Klapmust this weekend in Mount Vernon. And we could not have ordered better weather. The wedding weekend kicked off with a Thursday BBQ at Mary and Matt's house in Arlington which they just remodeled and were excited to share the finishing product with friends and family. Lots of out of town guests were able to attend and enjoy the fabulous Carolina style bbq made by Mr. Malerich and hot dogs cooked on Matt's new man grill, a gift from the wedding party.

Friday afternoon the bridesmaids and moms gathered at the beautiful home of Eva's (Mary's mom) friend on the Potomac for a bridal luncheon. Mary took the opportunity to thank all of the women involved in the wedding, including the bridesmaids, with special gifts. A highlight of the luncheon was the dessert- individual mini wedding cakes decorated with mini orchids. They were gorgeous.

Later that evening we celebrated the rehearsal dinner at Joe Theisman's Restaurant in Old Town Alexandria with roof top cocktails followed by a wonderful dinner and slide show of Mary and Matt throughout the years put together by her father. I got very emotional watching the pictures of Mary throughout the years since I was there to witness so much of it! We continued the party until midnight at O'Connels and I drove Mary home.

Sat morning began with massages and manicures/pedicures at Sugar House, followed by hair and makeup, then pictures on the Potomac, and finally the beautiful wedding ceremony.The dessert reception was held at the Mount Vernon Inn where we enjoyed lots of champagne, food and dancing until 1 a.m. It was a beautiful evening.

A special element of the wedding were the personalized details. Mary's mom made her beautiful wedding dress and all of the flower arrangements, among many other things. Their hard work made the wedding so special and memorable. Mary planned such an elegant, fun night, and everyone had an amazing time. I was honored to be a bridesmaid and Drew and I are so lucky to have the Malerich's and Klapmust's as our dear friends. It was also great to spend time with our parents who all attended the wedding. Oh, and I have to mention that Mary looked absolutely beautiful and Matt and her together looked liked bride and groom barbie.

Matt and Mary are off to Maui now for their honeymoon. Drew and I will be celebrating our one year anniversary next weekend by attending the wedding of his fraternity brother Kirk. We plan to do something special the following weekend. Enjoy a few pics from the weekend.